AOC Insists Joe Biden Can Forgive Student Loans by Executive Order Despite Constitutional Questions
By: Darragh Roche (MSN)
While an honorable (hahaha) proposal based on "feelings", could there be another reason some in Congress would jump on this with her? Read on into the body for some reminders of answers.
Oh, and never mind it is no one's fault for student debt than the person who took out said debt.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
AOC Insists Joe Biden Can Forgive Student Loans by Executive Order Despite Constitutional Questions
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants President-elect Joe Biden to forgive student loans through an executive order when he takes office early next year, though there are constitutional questions around his powers to do so.
Biden has not said he will cancel student loan debt. During the presidential campaign, his proposal was to cancel up to $10,000 of student loan debts but this would not apply to all borrowers and may not cover private loans. He is now under pressure to go further.
In two short Instagram videos on Tuesday, the New York Democrat said it was possible to relieve students of loan debt and she suggested there may not be a limit to the amount forgiven. "No, it is not a pipe dream at all," Ocasio-Cortez said in response to a question.
"And most importantly is that it can be done by executive order, which means Biden would not need [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell or the Republican Senate to forgive people's student loans."
"The key is that we need to push him," she said.
In a second video, Ocasio-Cortez addressed whether all student loans would be forgiven or just certain amounts.
"It really depends," she said. "The easiest and fastest type of loans to forgive right off the bat are federal student loans.
"When it comes to amounts, it really depends on what an elected official wants to do. There's a lot of numbers but nothing hard and fast."
Ocasio-Cortez isn't the first Democrat to suggest that Biden could forgive student loans through executive action. Senators Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren have said up to $50,000 in debt per borrower could be eliminated in this way.
Schumer and Warren introduced a resolution explaining "how the President should use executive authority to cancel student loan debt and ensure there is no tax liability for Federal student loan borrowers resulting from administrative debt cancellation."
Speaking about borrowers in New York on Tuesday, Schumer told Long Island's News 12: "They worry about how they're going to buy a car, how they're going to buy a home, how they're going to start a family, and even worry about what job to go into.
"Because sometimes you may want to go into a job that doesn't pay as well as another job. But this student debt, this student debt stands in the way."
However, there are unresolved constitutional and legal questions about a potential executive order on student loan debt.
As Forbes personal finance contributor Zack Friedman argued on November 16, the U.S. Constitution gives Congress control of the "purse strings" and any attempt to wipe out loans through executive action would likely be challenged in the courts.
It is not clear if the Secretary of Education has broad powers to cancel student loans under the Higher Education Act, as Warren and Schumer have suggested.
There is also an important distinction between federal student loans and those held by private lenders. Even if Biden has the authority to forgive the federal loans, dealing with private loans may only be possible through an act of Congress.
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Could there be some association here?
This was in September of 2019. Not sure if she paid it off or not.
And just like her "Medicare for all" plan, you just pay for it......................SMH
So, these people have a history of bad decisions. And somehow they get elected to office. Amazing.
I fail to see the logic or behind this display of largesse.
It is called buying voters; and appeasing their radical base.
Of course they have no clue how to pay for any of this.
This may be Joe's biggest test in standing up to the left.
With all these promised Executive Orders, Joe should be very busy in 2021.
As for the administration he was once a part of - it was they who in 2010 caused the outrageous cost of tuition.
You don't just "cancel" loans. The debt still exists. And millions of taxpayers who didn't make a stupid decision to attend a school they couldn't afford will be on the hook for it.
Meanwhile, the millions of people who got loans and actually worked hard to pay them back are doubly fucked. They paid off their own loans and now they will get to pay someone else's as well.
Great fucking policy idea. /s
Most people that go to uni can't afford it. Thus the need for loans to begin with.
There are many many many options, though. I would guess that most people who get loans could have chosen a cheaper school, worked while attending classes, or made some other kind of arrangement.
Just because you can get into an expensive school, that doesn't mean you should go.
And it's not like the debt sneaks up on you. Incoming freshmen should have some concrete idea of how much their degree is going to cost. What kind of job do they plan on having after graduation? Will it be enough to live on while paying off the loan? If not, maybe they should consider a different school, or even a different field.
You are basically saying if people can't afford it, they shouldn't go.
You want to be a doctor? Tough, you don't have the money...
Kind of a bad parallel there. If poor and can't afford it, tough luck. No chance to improve your situation. If one can afford it, they probably don't really need it.
You are basically saying if people can't afford it, they shouldn't go.
No, I'm not "basically saying" that at all.
You're taking a nuanced position and making it an all-or-nothing choice. Pushing doomsday scenarios is how we end up with silly policies requiring taxpayers to fund inflated tuitions at overpriced schools.
I suggested people seek alternatives rather than pile up debt they can foresee they won't be able to pay off.
If you want to fund medical education, let's talk about that. If the people wants to throw tax money at med schools, that is a very focused policy that might be worth talking about. That's not what this story is, though.
That's a reasonable intuition, but it doesn't appear to be totally true. According to the latest data, it looks like most student loan debt is being incurred by people who come from, or now have, money.
Who owes the most in student loans: New data from the Fed
It kinda is all or nothing. If one wants to go to medical school there are not many alternatives. One pays it and goes, or does not. One would have to accrue the debt for the opportunity.
I don't know how to respond to the numbers from the Fed as I think that is a little misleading.
I don't consider a household making 75k a year to be wealthy or well off. Comfortable maybe yet not exactly the top tier. It most likely includes multiple income families. It would make sense in that they would be less likely to be able to receive any financial help thus having to shoulder more of the burden.
Take my sister for example, they probably fall into that category as they both work. Believe me though, they are far from wealthy. They still owe about 20k for their daughter and she only went to the school for two years.
Our state college starts at about 15k a year. And that does not include cost of dorm (mandatory for first year) and other expenses.
One reason colleges are so expensive is the government's guaranteed loan program. The schools know they are going to get paid, so they feel free to jack up tuition and fees. Then they take the money and go on building sprees or higher more administrators at high salaries. Meanwhile, America is getting ripped off.